If you like to bake, this could be a good science project for you! Have you ever wondered about the purpose of each of the ingredients in your favorite recipes? For example, why is baking powder used in some muffin recipes? How does the baking powder affect how the muffins look, feel, and taste? In this food science project you will use a scientific method to find out!
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FoodSci_p007

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Time Required

Short (2-5 days)

Prerequisites

Previous experience with baking is helpful, but not absolutely necessary.

Material Availability

Readily available

Cost

Low ($20 - $50)

Safety

Minor injury possible: hot oven. Be sure to have an adult help when using the oven.

Whether you are sitting around a campfire, or drinking hot chocolate after a day in the snow, nothing says fun quite like a marshmallow! Even its name is soft and spongy! In this cooking and food science fair project, you will make your own marshmallows several different ways, and discover the three special ingredients that give marshmallows their unique texture. You will also find out why they melt so quickly. Explore the science of these sticky, spongy sweets!
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FoodSci_p065

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Time Required

Short (2-5 days)

Prerequisites

None

Material Availability

Readily available

Cost

Very Low (under $20)

Safety

Be careful when heating syrup in the saucepan. Adult supervision is required.

Have any of your friends or family members ever had an allergic reaction to eggs? In this science project idea, you'll investigate how to modify recipes so that even egg-allergic friends and family members can enjoy them.
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FoodSci_p002

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Time Required

Long (2-4 weeks)

Prerequisites

None

Material Availability

Readily available

Cost

Low ($20 - $50)

Safety

Adult supervision required when using the oven, stove, blender, or chopping ingredients.

Apple pie is one of America's traditional desserts. It can be enjoyed on its own or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The cool sweetness of the ice cream combines with the warm apples and flaky pastry to create a taste sensation. However, if the pastry that surrounds the apples is heavy or chewy then that can really affect how much you enjoy this treat. But how do you make a pastry that is light and flaky? In this cooking and food science fair project, you will find out by experimenting with…
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Have you ever bitten in to a cookie and thought, "this is the best cookie in the whole wide world!"? Was it one you made at home? In this science fair project, discover if you can perfect the taste of your favorite cookie right in your own kitchen!
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FoodSci_p014

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Time Required

Short (2-5 days)

Prerequisites

None

Material Availability

Readily available

Cost

Very Low (under $20)

Safety

Adult assistance is needed to make the cookie dough and bake the cookies.

There's nothing quite like the smell of fresh-baked muffins for breakfast on a Saturday morning! If you're into baking, you might want to try this project, which will give you insight into some of the chemistry that's going on in your muffin batter. You'll get some practical knowledge about substituting ingredients. Who knows, it may even get you started on the path to some new culinary inventions!
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FoodSci_p008

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Time Required

Short (2-5 days)

Prerequisites

Previous experience with baking is helpful, but not absolutely necessary.

Maple syrup is deliciously gooey and great on breakfast foods like pancakes and waffles. But it has another amazing property. It can be turned into maple candies with a range of textures, like sticky maple taffy or molded maple sugar candy. In this science fair project, you will investigate how the temperature that maple syrup is heated up to affects what type of maple syrup-based candies can be made.
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The first bite of a fresh-picked apple, the crunch of morning toast, the deep cut into rich, flaky layers of baklava, the pleasing snap of a chip. Besides being delicious, what do these foods have in common? They're crisp. They have a brittleness that causes them to shatter in your mouth when you first bite into them. It's a sensation that many people enjoy. Making potatoes crispy requires some extra cooking steps, as you'll discover in this food science project, but the results are well worth…
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FoodSci_p042

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Time Required

Short (2-5 days)

Prerequisites

None

Material Availability

Readily available

Cost

Very Low (under $20)

Safety

Adult supervision is required. Use caution when using a sharp knife and when working around a hot oven. You should not do this science fair project if you are allergic to potatoes or other vegetables from the nightshade family of plants.

A delicious and quick lunch is a cup of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. Biting into the toasty, butter-soaked bread and gooey cheese is very comforting. But what makes the cheese melt so nicely? Do all cheeses melt this way? In this cooking and food science fair project, you will experiment with making and determining the best recipe for processed cheese.
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FoodSci_p054

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Time Required

Long (2-4 weeks)

Prerequisites

You will need access to a refrigerator, a stovetop, and an oven.

Material Availability

Specialty items are required. See the Materials and Equipment list for details.

Cost

Low ($20 - $50)

Safety

Minor injury is possible. Adult supervision is required. Since the sodium phosphate dibasic is not a food-grade substance, do not eat any of the resulting processed cheeses.

Close your eyes for a moment and think about your favorite cake, pasta, and crusty bread. OK, you can open your eyes now, and please do not drool on your computer! What was the cake you pictured like? Was it light and fluffy? Did you imagine pasta with a silky, smooth texture? Was the bread you pictured wonderfully chewy? Did it give your jaws a workout? In this science fair project, you will explore an amazing substance in these foods, called gluten, and discover why these foods, all made from…
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FoodSci_p040

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- Less Details

Time Required

Short (2-5 days)

Prerequisites

None

Material Availability

Readily available

Cost

Very Low (under $20)

Safety

If you have an allergy to wheat, you should not do this science fair project.

You can find this page online at: http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/search.shtml?v=solt&pi=FoodSci_p068

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